Sione Tuitulotu, 17, has been enjoying the television show Jonah from Tonga, the final episode of which aired on the ABC on Wednesday. The year 11 student acknowledges the show crafts much of its comedy around stereotypes – often negative stereotypes – of his parents' home country, but that hasn't prevented him and his friends from finding the show funny.

Indeed Tuitulotu says the show is extremely popular in his suburban Sydney high school. So popular, in fact, that Tuitulotu and his other friends of Tongan descent have started using the word "fobalicious", the name of the crew titular character Jonah belongs to, and employed by the characters as a source of pride. The word is a mutation of “fob” or “fresh off the boat”, which in recent times has been appropriated by minority groups after decades of use as an offensive term.

"We just do it for fun," says Tuitulotu. He also reports an uptick in the school's "rangas" (redheads) being picked on, another crib from the show.

The six-part show has not aired without controversy. There have been accusations of Chris Lilley, the comedian who plays Jonah, putting on “racial drag”, and an online campaign from members of the Tongan community which attempts to counter the show's portrayal of their culture. Their efforts have included the Twitter hashtag #MyNameIsNotJonah.

The show has triggered discussion at Tuitulotu’s church, and in May, the chair of the Uniting Church’s Tongan National Conference, Reverend Jason Kioa said in a statement: “The image of a foul-mouthed, aggressive teenager is the absolute opposite of the young Tongans who play dynamic roles in our church and in our community. It saddens me that this crude caricature is how thousands of Australians will relate to our Tongan young people.”

Tuitulotu is eager to impress on Guardian Australia that Lilley's portrayal is a far cry from any typical Tongan. The biggest difference between Jonah and real-life Tongan kids, he says, is the character's complete and utter lack of respect for authority, in particular his poor behaviour towards his aunt.

"Every Tongan person has respect for themselves and for their elders. That's the one main rule," says Tuitulotu.

It’s been noted by critics that Jonah’s bad behaviour – partly explained in the show by the early death of his mother – crosses all lines, no matter what your age or cultural background. It’s telling that Tuitulotu’s favourite character from the show is Mr Joseph, the ex-army teacher who isn’t afraid to take some decidedly non-standard teaching methods to bring the infuriating, charismatic, incorrigible Jonah into line.

Overall Tuitulotu takes a mellow attitude towards the significance of any cultural inaccuracies in the show. He shrugs off any suggestion that he should derive either cultural pride or shame from it, and instead evaluates it using the one golden rule about offensive comedy: is it funny?

For Tuitulotu and his schoolmates, the answer is clearly yes, it is. And when asked if he would watch a second season, the answer was again, "yes".

"I just like the funny bits when he’s at school and teasing the other people," he says.